Andrew Gale: We’re striving to create a legacy at Yorkshire

Andrew Gale

WE SAID last year when we won the County Championship at Yorkshire that we did not want to be ‘one-hit wonders’ and that we wanted to go on and win it again and win more trophies.

This season is backing that up really.

We want to go down as one of the best teams who have pulled on the Yorkshire shirt and to be compared with the team of the sixties and others like that.

Everyone has contributed this year.

We have spoken about this side creating a legacy in Yorkshire cricket and that is what we are trying to do.

The next goal after winning the Championship, which we will do if we avoid defeat at Lord’s next week, is going on to set the record number of wins and points in a season and that’s something that is motivating us.

We don’t just want to sit back and go on a jolly for the last two or three weeks of the season. We want to be setting records which are going to be there for a long time.

We are in a really good place and if we can lift the title at Lord’s, it would also be personally fantastic for me.

It was a tough time at the end of last year with everything that went on and not to be able to lift the trophy, given everything I have given to the club.

Hopefully, this time it will be my time.

It’s been a big driving force; at every gym session and net session I have had, I have thought about lifting the trophy and hopefully I will eventually get my hands on it.

I have had the game at Lord’s in mind a little bit for a while now. You want to win the trophy as soon as possible and if we win it with a couple of games left, it will be a fantastic effort. But to go and win it at the home of cricket will be special.

We are in a great position now and this week’s win over Somerset at Headingley puts us in a fantastic place and hopefully we will nail it at Lord’s next week.

I thought it was a fantastic performance and some of the bowling performances, as a unit, were some of the best that I have seen really.

After winning the toss, there is always a bit of pressure when you bowl first and there was a bit of a cloud cover and it was a typical Headingley morning on Tuesday really and the lads put the ball in good areas.

The lads also backed it up with good catching in the field as well.

There were some special performances with Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance with the bat and Steve Patterson also came in as a nightwatchman and took the sting out of the Somerset attack.

Jonny just played as he has done all year. He looks like he bats on a different wicket to the rest of us.

I thought Jack Brooks’ bowling was terrific. Usually with Brooksy, he can blow a little bit hot and cold at times. But he was really on it in this game.

He had a point to prove, I guess and he said he was really nervous going into the game after being left out at Sussex.

He was unlucky to be left out anyway. But from what I saw in this game, there was a really fresh bowler out there and when you haven’t played for a couple of weeks, you are very fresh and raring to go and that’s what he was.

One-day wise, it’s also a big time and we face Gloucestershire in the Royal London Cup at Headingley this weekend and I know the lads are really excited about tomorrow.

There is going to be a good crowd and it’s a chance of playing in a Lord’s final and we are one win away. There’s a lot of excitement around and I guess this week keeps the confidence and momentum going.

It’s also a big weekend for my former club Cleckheaton, who still have an outside chance of a hat-trick of Bradford League titles and they will have to beat leaders Pudsey St Lawrence today and hope results go for them.

It’s another exciting finish to the season and Cleckheaton are still in there and could still win three in a row. Fingers crossed for Cleckheaton; I am right behind them.